The Brotherhood
by genomes67
Summary: A few weeks after defeating Xemnas, Sora recieves a letter from King Mickey asking him to meet him at a far away planet. Sora, Riku, and Kairi travel there only to find themselves thrown into the middle of a much bigger war.
1. Chapter 1

Sora wrinkled his nose as he, Riku, and Kairi walked off of the crowded city street and into what appeared to be an overcrowded bar. The place smelled of alcohol and sweat and Sora found the stench almost overpowering. The place was also dark, humid and full of activity. Several of the bar's patrons looked up from their drinks to look at the young trio entering the bar, but quickly returned to their drinks without giving the group a second thought. Sora had a bad feeling about this place. _Why would King Mickey ask to meet us here_, he thought to himself, _it just doesn't make any sense._

Suddenly someone grabbed the back of Sora's collar and pulled, pulling him backward just as a beer bottle sailed past his face and crashed into the far wall. He turned to find Riku clutching his collar tightly as laughter began to emanate from many of the patrons at the spectacle.

Sora couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, brushed himself off and turned to Riku. "Are you sure this is the place?"

Riku nodded, "the message was very specific. We are supposed to meet Mickey here in a couple of minutes. He should be here soon if he's not here already."

Sora stopped for a second to think. He had been ecstatic when he had found a bottle on the beach of Destiny Island with a note bearing the king's crest inside. After traveling to this strange planet and told to wait for the king in this strange place, however, he was beginning to have his doubts. "But why here?" He asked his two companions. "Why would the king want to meet us here?"

"Because it's loud and crowded." Kairi chimed in, drawing questioning glances from her two friends. She was a few inches shorter than Riku and Sora and only recently became aware of her role as a key-bearer; so she often felt inadequate when compared with the two boys. However, several times now she had proven to be more insightful than her male counterparts and jumped on any opportunities to prove her value. "We can talk with King Mickey here with little fear of eavesdropping." Sora and Riku glanced at each other, still obviously confused. Kairi grinned playfully, "Don't you two watch movies?"

"But who would the king be afraid of listening in on us?" Sora asked.

"I don't know," Riku admitted. "Lets just sit down and try to blend in."

Sora chuckled slightly. Riku was the most mature looking person in their group, but it was still obvious that none of them belonged in a place like this. However, they walked over and sat at an empty table in the far corner of the bar and began to wait.

Before too long three men entered the bar. The men were all tall and muscular, and they were wearing matching uniforms that led Sora to believe they were police officers of sorts. Sora also noticed that once the men entered one man about halfway down the bar slowly turned his back to the door and tried his best to conceal his face.

The officers must have noticed as well, because without hesitating the three officers walked up to the man. One of the officers leaned over to say something to the man, but without warning the man grabbed his glass and smashed it into the officer's face. The officer reeled back in pain, and before he could recover the man spun around in his chair and punched the officer in the gut. As the officer doubled over, the man grabbed the officer's head and slammed it into the bar. The officer crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The man rose just as the two remaining officers drew black batons. The nearest officer took a swing at the man, but the man slid aside and the officer ended up hitting a nearby patron. The unfortunate man slumped forward and spilled his drink into the lap of the man sitting next to him. That man immediately rose and tackled the officer that had clubbed his friend. The two landed on a nearby table, and people sitting there immediately rose and began attacking random people in a drunken rage. In a matter of moments the entire bar had erupted into an all out brawl.

Sora immediately looked to Riku, wondering if they should leave while they still could or try to find King Mickey in this mess. His question was quickly answered; however, as the man who had been fighting the three officers seemed to appear at their table. The man was tall and muscular with a deep scar running down his left cheek. Sora also noticed that the man carried a large case on his back that appeared to be taller than Riku. The man grinned at the three of them and asked in a deep voice "one of you kids named Sora?"

Startled, Sora replied, "I am."

The man nodded, "that would make you two Riku and Kairi. I need you guys to come with me."

Sora wasn't sure how to respond, but luckily Riku did. "Sorry, but we're supposed to be meeting someone here."

The man's grin returned. "I know, King Mickey sends his apologies for not being to meet you personally, but there was an urgent matter that needed his attention. I am Dio."

Dio was interrupted as a man suddenly landed on their table, causing all four to jump. Dio grabbed the man and threw him back into the brawl behind them. "I'm sorry but we are in a hurry and need to leave now. Please follow me."

With that he turned and began to walk toward the door. Sora quickly glanced at Riku and Kairi, who both nodded and they all rose and followed Dio. As Dio pushed his way through the fighting patrons millions of questions were flying through Sora's head. Just who was this Dio? How did he know King Mickey? Where was he taking them?

Finally Dio pushed the last patron aside and headed out the door. Sora followed back outside on the city street, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on, we're in a hurry" Dio called back as he continued walking down the street.

Sora couldn't believe how fast this guy walked, he, Riku and Kairi could barely keep up without breaking into a full sprint. They had been walking for awhile now and Sora could begin to feel the fatigue getting to him. His breathing became harder and he had to constantly reach up to wipe the sweat from his brow. The others weren't faring much better, Kairi's overalls were soaked with sweat and even Riku was beginning to slump.

Dio, however, hadn't slowed down a bit. It was as though he didn't even notice the scorching heat or the weight of the large box he was carrying on his back. He just kept walking at his usual determined pace; his long hair and red jacket fluttering in the occasional breeze.

After a few more minutes of walking they finally came to a section of the city that didn't have any buildings. It was an open concrete walkway with a few benches and fountains scattered about. _Their poor attempt at a park I guess,_ Sora thought to himself. He suddenly found himself missing his home back at the Destiny Islands.

Dio was scanning the sky, and Sora looked up to see hundreds of ships sailing across the sky. They reminded him of his Gummi Ship except these ships seemed to be made of metal rather than the strange substance the Gummi Ship was made out of. The fact that they were all made out of metal was the only thing these ships had in common, however. They ranged in size from monstrous ships that dominated the sky to tiny craft that darted across overhead, only taking a fraction of a second to cross the concrete park. No two ships looked exactly alike, except for several smaller ships that were all painted the same yellow color.

Suddenly Dio pulled what looked like a laser pointer out of his jacket and fired it at one of the yellow ships. Almost immediately the yellow ship changed direction and headed for the park. The ship was little more than a smooth oval and looked like it could hold about five people. The only thing of interest about the ship was the word "taxi" painted on the side. The "taxi" ship landed next to the group and a door at the back of the ship opened. Instead of getting in however, Dio walked toward the front of the ship and opened the door. He then grabbed the driver and yanked him out of his ship. The driver stood a good four inched taller than Dio, but was much skinnier. His skin was a dull grey color and it appeared that his knees were bent the wrong way. His head was the strangest part. It was long and ended at three points at the top. His eyes were also huge and bug like. Sora had seen several of these creatures around the city. Salarians he believed they were called.

"Whatareyoudoing?" The Salarian shouted, speaking so fast that his words seemed to blend together.

"I'm sorry, but I need this car" Dio replied, sounding anything but sorry.

"I need this car to make my living, you can't just take it." The Salarian said angrily, his speech slowing slightly. "Besides, the car is equipped with a tracking device; you won't get far with it."

"Good, then you'll have no trouble finding it after I'm done." With that Dio turned to Sora and said "get in."

Sora, Riku and Kairi looked at each other. Riku shrugged his shoulders and walked toward one of the back doors and Kairi quickly followed suit. _Guess I have no choice _Sora thought to himself as he walked toward the passenger side door.

"No" Dio said, pointing at Sora. "Get in the back, act like a customer."

_A customer? _Sora didn't understand what was going on, but he decided he'd play along for now. He climbed in the back of the ship with Riku and Kairi and the taxi quickly began to climb into the air. Sora looked back to see the Salarian shaking his fist at the retreating taxi.

"Okay, now we have a chance to talk." Dio said into the back of the taxi. "Let me start off by saying you guys did a wonderful job dealing with Maleficent and the Heartless-"

"Alright, what's going on? Who are you and where is King Mickey?" Riku interrupted, his patience obviously running out.

"Shut up, I'm getting to that!" Dio snapped back. "I've got to fill you in on everything that's going on and I have very little time to do it in, so just shut up and listen." The three kids in back didn't say anything, so Dio continued. "Now as I was saying, you did well against the Heartless, but I'm afraid it wasn't the great victory we had thought it would be."

"We?" Sora asked.

"The brotherhood" Dio replied, "We're a group of warriors who have banded together to help rid the universe of evil. Sounds Cliché I know but that's the best way to describe it."

"O…kay, but if you're some kind of holy warrior, why did you steal this ship?" Riku asked, skepticism apparent in his voice.

"Because this is the only time I have to fill you in on what's going on, and I frankly didn't want the driver listening in on us. He could have been a Council spy." Dio replied.

"Who's the Council?" Sora asked.

"They're a collection of people bent on conquering the universe," Dio replied, rapidly weaving in and out of traffic. "Their leader is none other than your old friend Maleficent."

"Maleficent!?" The three keyblade wielders shouted in unison.

"But that's impossible," Sora continued, "she died fending off the attacking heartless in Xemnas' castle…didn't she?"

Dio glanced at the trio, "unfortunately no. She's still alive and well, and she's the best leader the Council has ever had."

"Wait a minute," Kairi chimed in. "So you're saying that this Council is just an evil Brotherhood? It seems strangely coincidental."

"You'd be surprised how often opposites come up in this little war of ours." Dio replied coldly.

It was obvious now that Dio was heading for a giant cylindrical tower in the middle of the city. Thousands of arms jutted out of the tower, each ending with a large flat surface where ships were parked. Sora recognized the building almost immediately; they had been forced to land the gummi ship there when they had first arrived on the planet. A spaceport, he believed it was called.

Dio landed on a landing spot near the top of the spaceport, right next to a large red ship. The front resembled a creature's head, complete with beady yellow eyes and sharp teeth. The ship grew larger toward the back, ending with four large fins at the back that contained the engines. The first thing that came to Sora's mind as he looked at the ship was that it looked like a dragon. Dio looked at the ship with pride as he exited the taxi and began walking toward it. "Isn't she beautiful," he said. "She's called the _Ragnarok_, and she's one of the fastest ships I have ever seen."

Dio glanced back at Sora, Riku and Kairi, who were still exiting the taxi. Once he got their attention he nodded back toward the _Ragnarok_. "Come on, I'll give you the grand tour and introduce you to the crew."


	3. Chapter 3

The _Ragnarok_ continued to grow as the group got closer to it. Sora couldn't believe how big it was. "Wow, it's huge," he said in awe.

"Actually, compared with some of the ships flying around, she's quite small." Dio replied. "It actually only takes one person to fly her, that's a rarity now-a-days."

Sora continued to approach the ship when suddenly something hit him from the side. The force knocked him to the ground and he began rolling across the platform. He landed on his back looking up at a person pinning him to the ground. The person was tall, easily six feet, and skinny. Most of his body was covered in short, black fur. He had long, droopy ears and big eyes, but the most prominent feature of his face was a long snout that ended with a small black nose. Sora's eyes beamed as he recognized his attacker. A grin snuck across his face that nearly reached his ears. "Goofy!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his arms around Goofy's neck in a friendly embrace.

"How ya doin' Sora?" Goofy asked, rising and helping his friend get up.

"Not bad," Sora replied as he dusted himself off. "I'm still not sure what's going on though."

"Ah phooey, you never know what's going on." Said a raspy voice from behind goofy.

Sora looked behind goofy to find a rather unhappy duck standing a few paces away. The duck was about a foot shorter than Sora and was wearing a pointy magician's hat and a roe that went down to his waist. Sora's grin grew a bit larger. "Donald!" Sora ran over and hugged Donald around the waist and picked him up off of the ground.

"WAAAGH!! Put me down!" Donald screamed, his arms and legs flailing.

Donald was King Mickey's chief magician, while Goofy was head of the royal guard. They were the king's most trusted servants and had gone off to look for the king after his disappearance during the heartless incident. The only order they had was to "find the keyblade bearer" and after a short search they met and befriended Sora. They traveled together and stood together against the armies of Heartless and Nobodies. They were good comrades and Sora was happy to see them again.

"Well, glad to see you guys remember each other." Dio said smiling. "Now-"

"Dio!" Someone called

Sora turned to see a man jogging toward the group from the direction of the ship. The man was wearing blue overalls that were stained with grease. His face and hands were also covered with grime. He also had long brown hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

"Dio," he said again once he reached the group, "The _Ragnarok_ is refueled and repaired. Once you're ready we can get going."

"Good work Irvine." Dio replied. "Tell Selphie to heat up the engines."

"Will do sir." Irvine replied as he headed back toward the ship.

Dio looked at Sora. "That's Irvine, our weapons expert. He also has quite a knack for repairing space ships." With that he turned to Donald and Goofy. "Finish packing everything up, we need to be ready to leave at any moment."

"Yes sir!" Goofy replied. He tried to salute, but he apparently forgot that he still had his shield strapped to his arm. The shield hit him in the forehead, knocking him down.

"Oh brother," Donald said, shaking his head.

"Come on," Dio called to the three kids as he began heading toward the ship.

The group entered through a ramp at the back of the ship, which led into a large hanger bay, which at the moment contained Sora's Gummi ship. "We took the liberty of picking it up for you," Dio explained as they walked past. "Hope you don't mind."

With that he led the group through several winding corridors until they entered a small room lined with chairs. Two people were sitting toward the front of the room with their backs to the door. They appeared to be talking to each other.

"I'd introduce you to the crew," Dio said as he entered, "but I'm pretty sure you've already met them."

With that the two men turned around. One man was tall and muscular, with spiky blond hair. On his back was a huge sword that was probably longer than Sora was tall. The other man was less muscular but no less intimidating. He had long brown hair and a scar that ran across his face.

Sora's eyes widened. "Cloud! Leon!"

Dio looked at Leon with a confused look on his face "Leon?"

"That's how they know me, didn't King Mickey tell you?"

"Guess not," Dio replied, "but if it's all the same to you I'm just going to keep calling you Squall." He turned toward Sora, "that's his real name."

"Whatever," Squall replied.

Dio walked over toward Cloud and Squall and took a seat. "Alright, we have a lot of explaining to do and very little time to do it in. Let's get started." He turned toward Sora and the others, who were just now taking their seats. "For years the Brotherhood and the Council have fought behind the scenes, merely influencing events rather than taking a direct role in them."

"This is why it was such a surprise when Maleficent began invading planets with the heartless." Cloud continued. "We thought that the Council had finally made their move. So many key members of the Brotherhood, including our leader, came to help you fight them."

"Wait, your leader? Do you mean…King Mickey?" Sora asked.

"Yes, he's one of the greatest leaders the Brotherhood has ever had." Dio replied. "However, the Heartless attack wasn't the Council's great push like we thought it was. It turned out to be just a diversion. While everyone was focused on the heartless, Council members all over the universe sprang into action, conquering worlds and the like. Since most of our members were fighting the Heartless, the Brotherhood was unable to contain it. Now we are desperately trying to play catch up."

"Things aren't looking good." Squall continued. "We're hopelessly outnumbered, that's why you're here."

"So, where is King Mickey?" Riku asked.

"On a planet not far from here," Dio answered. "An evil scientist invaded the planet with an army of robots. Now he's enslaving the planet's population, transforming them into robots to fuel his war machine. We think he is on the Council, and if that is the case then his robot troops would greatly boost the Council's army. Mickey traveled there to meet up with a group of resistance fighters to help overthrow him. Maybe eventually you will go help him, but if that is the case then things will be a lot worse than we had feared."

At that moment Goofy walked into the room. "All done sir" he reported.

"Good," Dio replied, "now we just have to wait for Selphie's signal-"

"There it is!" A female voice exclaimed over the intercom. "Alliance prison ship leaving the atmosphere!"

"Hit it Selphie!" Dio shouted. "Full speed ahead!"

"Yes sir!" The voice exclaimed.

The room shuddered as the ship took off and began to accelerate. Dio strode out of the room, with Sora and the others hot on his heels. They crammed into an elevator that rose for a few seconds before stopping. They were now in a smaller room with two people at the far end. Clouds flew past the windows as the ship continued to climb.

"Think we'll be able to catch them?" Dio asked as he approached the two people.

"It's going to be close." The man replied as he turned. It was Irvine, only now he was wearing a long brown coat and a cowboy hat. "At this rate we'll catch them right at the mass relay."

"Nonsense!" The girl in the pilot's seat exclaimed. She had short brown hair and was wearing a bright yellow dress. "Watch this," she glanced back, grinning from ear to ear, "and hold on to something."

She hit a few buttons on the control panel next to her and the ship began to accelerate so rapidly that Sora was knocked off his feet.

"Good work Selphie," Dio said, "everyone back into the elevator. Irvine, you're with us."

Everyone returned to the elevator. "What's going on? Why are we chasing a prison ship?" Kairi asked as the elevator began to descend.

"Because a good friend of ours is on that ship," Dio replied, pulling a handgun out of his jacket "and we want her back."

The group headed back to the hanger bay. Once they were there, the ship began to slow down. After a few seconds a jolt ran through the ship. "We're in" Selphie's voice stated through the intercom, "opening doors now."

The hanger bay doors began to open, revealing a bright light on the other side. Irvine pulled a small shotgun out of his jacket while Cloud and Squall drew their swords. Sora, Riku and Kairi followed suit, calling their keyblades to their hands.

"You did well against the heartless kids," Dio said, smiling, "but let's see how you handle the big leagues."


	4. Chapter 4

Once the ramp was fully descended, Dio, Squall and Cloud ran out of the ship and into what appeared to be a large open room

Once the ramp was fully descended, Dio, Squall and Cloud ran out of the ship and into what appeared to be a large open room. Sora began to follow them, but was stopped when Irvine held out his hand to block Sora. Sora looked to Irvine, who shook his head. "Not yet" he whispered. After a few moments Dio signaled that all was clear and Sora and the others ran over to join up.

The room appeared to be a hanger bay; it was a large, vast room that contained rows of ships similar in size to the Ragnarok. The other ships, however, were covered with burn marks and several appeared to be missing pieces.

Sora noticed that Dio and Cloud were kneeling over something and walked over to get a better look. It was a man, or rather, what was left of one. The man was wearing black body armor from head to toe. Only his face was exposed, and it was frozen with a look of sear terror. The man's torso had been ripped to shreds by something; the chest plate of his armor was in tatters and blood was everywhere. Sora reeled back in disgust.

Dio sighed. "I was afraid of this. This ship dropped disappeared a few weeks ago. Many people believed that the crew disserted their posts and ran to some far away planet. Looks like they were wrong."

"What happened to him?" Sora asked.

Dio pointed at the man's chest. "Someone shot him with an assault rifle of some kind. Whoever it was must have unloaded fifty rounds into him."

"Oh my God!" Kairi exclaimed, just noticing the body. "Who could have done that?"

Dio stood, "I have a pretty good idea." He then pulled a small radio out of his jacket and spoke into it. "Selphie, keep the engines hot. We may need to leave this place very quickly."

He put the radio back in his jacket and motioned to the other members of the group. Follow me, try to stay close and keep quiet. Keep your eyes open, we don't want anything sneaking up on us."

"Wait for us!" Donald shouted as he and Goofy ran down the ramp.

"No," Dio shouted. "You two need to stay here with Selphie and guard the ship. The last thing we need is someone coming and scrapping the ship for parts while were gone."

"But-" Donald started to argue.

"That's an order Donald." Dio interrupted, sounding more annoyed than usual.

After a few seconds Donald nodded and headed back into the ship, Goofy quickly followed suit. Satisfied, Dio nodded and began walking out of the hanger. The group slowly walked down a dark corridor until they reached a small room. Several computer banks filled the center of the room, but they were all damaged beyond repair.

Several corridors led out of this room. Dio stared at each one in turn, unsure which way to go. After a few moments he placed his hand on his ear and began to speak. "EVA, I need the schematics for a Griffon class prison ship." Almost immediately several small rectangles of light appeared a few inches in front to Dio's face. From what Sora could tell the small rectangles contained drawings of some kind, but they were much too small for him to make out anything else. After a few seconds of staring at the screens, Dio nodded and turned to the group. "This way" he said, walking down one of the corridors.

"Wait," Sora said as he was trying to catch up, "how did you do that? And who is EVA?"

"Cutting edge technology kid," Dio replied as he walked. "It's a small holographic projector I wear over my eyes like a contact lens. It displays information so that I can look at it and still be aware of what's going on around me. As for EVA, well that's a long story that we can't really get into right now."

The group turned a corner and stopped suddenly, there were three strange creatures in the hallway. Sora had never seen anything like them before. The creatures were basically human in shape; except they were well over six and a half feet tall and their entire body was gray in color. The muscles in their arms and legs were clearly visible, but something was different about them. They looked more like thousands of tiny wires than actual muscles.

Their heads were the strangest part; they looked almost as though they were wearing steel hoods. Their faces were nothing more than a bright blue light. All three of the creatures were holding assault rifles as well as several other weapons on their back. Suddenly, one of the creatures looked up and noticed Sora and the others. It trained its gun on them and emitted a strange clicking sound.

"Shit!" Dio screamed as he grabbed Sora by his collar and dragged him back around the corner just as a stream of bullets flew down the hallway.

That was the second time today someone had to grab Sora and pull him out of the way of danger, and he was beginning to get tired of it. "What are those things?" He asked.

"Geth," Dio screamed back. "They're a race of robots, looks like they attacked this ship and-GAHHHH!" He screamed in pain as a random bullet grazed his arm. He bent over in pain and blood splattered all over the opposite wall. "Damn," he grunted, clutching his injured arm. He then reached into his jacket with his good arm and pulled out a small black cylinder. He pushed a button on the top of the cylinder and it began to glow red. He then threw the glowing cylinder across the corner and pushed the others farther back down the hallway. A few seconds later there was a loud bang and fire rushed down the hallway. When the fire receded there were no more gunshots.

"Cool!" Sora said, amazed. "Nice job Dio."

"Thanks, but now all the Geth on this ship know were here." Dio replied, once again clutching his arm. "We'd better hurry to the brig."

"That looks pretty bad," Irvine interjected. "You should probably head back to the ship; we can handle it from here."

"No, it's just a scratch. I'll be fine." Dio countered. "We just need to hurry. Come on, this way."

Jonathan woke to a low rumbling sound that seemed to reverberate throughout the ship. It sounded almost like an explosion, as though someone was attacking the ship. Just then an alarm sounded outside the door of his prison cell, confirming his suspicions.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked groggily, the explosion must have woken her up as well.

Jonathan turned to look at his cell mate. Jenna appeared to be in her mid twenties and was very attractive, with long blond hair, big blue eyes, and soft facial features. Her beauty was only skin deep, however. Jenna was a complete airhead; He found that he had to explain everything to her whenever they talked. It was like he was talking to a three year old. And they talked a lot, that seemed to be the only thing she enjoyed doing. He had contemplated killing her more than once just so he could have some peace and quiet, but he always thought better of it. The Geth had left them both alive for a reason, and he didn't want to anger his captors by killing a fellow prisoner.

"I think someone's attacking the ship." He replied.

"Who?" Jenna asked.

_How the hell am I supposed to know?_ Jonathan thought to himself, but he managed to hold his tongue. "I'm not sure," he said instead, "maybe they're here to rescue us."

"I hope so," Jenna replied, bringing herself up to a sitting position and propping herself against the opposite wall so she could face him.

The energy field that served as the door of the cell cast filled the cell with a strangely calming red glow. He glanced at the field and moved away from it. Those things were known to cause third degree burns if they were touched, so he tried to stay as far away from it as he could.

"Maybe if I ask nicely enough, they will take me to the Citadel." Jenna said, trying to make conversation.

Jonathan wasn't in the mood; however, he just nodded and looked at the ground, mainly to hide the look of disgust on his face. _Why would the Geth have captured such a useless girl?_ He thought to himself. She had been brought here a few weeks ago and thrown in the same cell as him. He thought it was strange at first but figured that the Geth were just trying to be as efficient as possible, they were machines after all. She claimed the Geth attacked her hometown and took her captive. Jonathan found the story shaky but couldn't think of anything she could be hiding. It had been nice at first having a companion to talk to, but now her constant jabbering was driving him crazy.

_Oh well_, he thought to himself, _if I'm lucky I'll be rescued soon enough._ He smiled to himself. Several of his rescuers would most likely be killed by the Geth, and it would be an easy enough matter to kill the rest of them in their sleep and hijack their ship. Then he could take his sweet time killing Jenna, but not before he had some fun with her.

And if she resisted, well that just made things more interesting.

Suddenly the main entrance to the brig was blown open by a massive explosion. Out of the smoke, a man entered. He was a muscular man with a long red jacket and a large metal case on his back. In his hands were two Alliance Military grade pistols. Three more men walked in behind him, one skinny man with a ponytail and carrying a shotgun and two burly guys with swords. Then three kids entered, two boys and a girl, carrying swords of their own. It was probably the strangest group Jonathan had ever seen, but that didn't matter. They were going to rescue him, time for some acting.

He approached the force field, appearing to be as excited as possible. "Thank God you're here! We've been imprisoned here for weeks and we were worried no-"

Something suddenly struck Jonathan in the back of the head, propelling him forward into the force field. He screamed in pain as the force field discharged its energy. After a few agonizing seconds he fell backwards onto the floor. His chest and the right side of his face were completely charred, and every nerve in his body screamed in pain. He looked up to see Jenna looking down at him.

"What the hell did you that for Jenna?" He managed to say.

Jenna didn't say anything. She didn't have to though, Jonathan already had his answer. Jenna had changed; her face no longer had the look of a sweet, innocent girl. She was now cold and calculating, she was a killer.

She had been playing him since day one, and he had fallen for it.

_Oh shit_

Jenna punched him in the face. The force of the blow and the pain from his burns were too much for him, almost instantly Jonathan's entire world went black.

The man crumpled from the force of the woman's blow and fell to the floor unconscious. The Woman just looked at the man few seconds before muttering the word "pervert" under her breath. With that she looked at Dio. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked.

"We're here to rescue you." Dio replied, slightly confused by the woman's demeanor.

The woman crossed her arms "I don't seem to remember asking you to rescue me." She said.

Sora couldn't help but stare, _who is this woman?_ He asked himself. _The man had called her Jenna hadn't he?_

Jenna was a tall woman with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Even though she was wearing a loose fitting prisoner's uniform Sora could tell she was muscular, and the way she stood told him that she knew how to handle herself in a fight. Everything about her intimidated Sora, he made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

"Nevertheless, here we are." Dio replied. He raised his gun and fired three rounds into a control panel next to the force field, which almost immediately began to dissipate. "How did they manage to capture you anyway?" He asked.

"I wanted them to," Jenna replied. "The Alliance was paying quite a bit of money to find out where the Geth land this ship to refuel and repair it. Thanks for ruining my job by recuing me by the way, I really appreciate it."

The shield had dissipated and Jenna stopped to pick up the unconscious man before leaving the cell. She handed the man off to Cloud. "Hold this for me would you."

Cloud looked at the man, confused. "Are we taking him with us?"

"He may be a scumbag," Jenna replied, "but the Alliance is willing to pay three thousand credits for him, even if he is damaged."

She then turned to Dio and held out a hand. "Gun" she said.

Dio handed her one of his pistols. She looked it over for a few seconds before smiling. "Good," she said, "well, what are we waiting for."


	5. Chapter 5

Jenna took a few steps toward the blown out door but stopped. "Wait a minute," she said as she turned around to look at the group that had rescued her. "Where's Adam?" She asked.

"Adam's fine," Dio replied rather abruptly, "he's on the _Ragnarok"_

Sora looked at Dio in confusion. _He didn't introduce us to anyone named Adam_; he thought to himself, _did he just forget?_

"You should have brought him with you," Jenna replied, "he's a much better fighter than you obviously give him credit for."

Jenna's eyes then met with Sora's, and he froze almost immediately. He wasn't sure why the woman intimidated him so much, there was just something about her that scared him.

"And who are you supposed to be?" She asked.

Sora struggled to find his voice. "I-I'm Sora, these are my friends Riku and Kairi. We're-"

"The Keyblade wielders." Jenna finished. She then started laughing as she turned back to Dio. "Seriously Dio?" She asked. "Is this little holy war of yours going so badly that you had to ask for their help?"

Sora was shocked. _What was that supposed to mean?_

"They're better fighters than you obviously give them credit for." Dio replied evenly.

Jenna chuckled, "We'll see about that." She then turned back toward the door, "now let's get going," she ordered.

The group then began sprinting down the hallway back toward the hanger. The alarms filled the hallway with an eerie red light and loud blaring noises. Suddenly Jenna turned and began running down a different corridor. "Hey," Dio called after her. "The hanger is this way."

Jenna turned. "I need to head up to the bridge, there has to be some information there on where this ship lands."

"We'll come with you," Irvine offered.

Jenna shook her head, "thanks but I don't need you guys slowing me down. I'll see you guys back at the _Ragnarok._" With that she turned around and continued down the corridor.

Kairi looked at Dio, "shouldn't we go after her?" She asked.

Dio shook his head. "No, she can take care of herself. We're better off clearing a path to the ship."

The group continued retracing their steps back to the hanger. With each passing second Sora became more optimistic, they may just make it out of here scot free after all.

"Warning, multiple Geth signatures detected." An even, emotionless female voice said, seemingly out of nowhere. Dio stopped and placed his hand up against his ear, almost immediately small squares of light appeared near his eyes.

"Shit" Dio said, "their blocking off our exit. There must be fifty of them headed this way."

"We can take them." Cloud stated.

Dio shook his head. "Not in these small corridors, they'll mow us down. Besides, if we just stay here and fight we will just be making it easier for the Geth to surround us. We'll have to find another way."

"But we can't just go running around this ship." Squall interjected. "The Geth know this place better than we do, they'll catch us."

"Yes they will" Dio agreed. "I'll stay here and buy you guys some time. You two take the kids and get out of here as fast as you can."

Cloud nodded and placed his hand near his ear gazed intently at the small squares of light that appeared.

"But-" Kairi started to argue.

"That's an order!" Dio yelled. "Now get out of here while you still can!"

Squall corralled the kids back the way they came as Cloud began running. "I think I have an alternate path figured out." Cloud stated. "Follow me." He then went through a nearby doorway and into what appeared to be a cafeteria. Overturned tables and chairs littered the floor and the walls were covered with bullet holes.

Sora glanced back as he was running through the cafeteria. He had only known Dio for a few hours, but he could tell that Dio was a good person. He couldn't believe Dio had been so willing to give up his life to save the lives of some kids. Sora shook the thought from his head; there was no time to dwell on that now. He continued running, struggling to keep up with Cloud.

Dio watched as Cloud led the others away. Squall and Cloud were capable fighters; he knew they would be okay. It was time for him to focus on the task at hand.

Only a few meters away a small army of ruthless killing machines marched toward him. They were no doubt armed to the teeth and ready to kill anything that moved. Dio smiled, this could be fun.

He began walking down the corridor toward his pursuers. After only a few steps they met, an army of Geth that filled the corridor for as far as Dio could see. The Geth rushed toward Dio but stopped several feet short. The first row of Geth raised their weapons, but did not fire. Several of them quickly turned their heads to glance at each other.

Dio smiled. "That's what I like about you synthetics," he said, "You can see the truth of what I am." Dio took a step forward, and the front row of Geth retreated a few feet. "Everything about me screams that I shouldn't even exist, yet here I stand before you." He continued. "It's illogical, and that's why you fear me." Dio continued walking forward, the Geth retreating with each step. "No one knows why you decided to leave the Veil, but I think I do. You are looking for it, aren't you? The Evil Seed calls to you, like it calls to me. You want it because you think it will bring you true power." Dio stopped walking and removed the metal case from his back and set it on the ground. "Allow me to show you what true power really is."

He then unhooked the latches on the case and opened it. A bright blue light filled the corridor. Just then the first wave of Geth opened fire.

"Dammit," Cloud muttered as he propped himself behind a corner to hide from the unrelenting stream of bullets. He had led the group on a long, roundabout path through the crew's quarters with the hope of sneaking past the Geth. However they now found themselves pinned down by a group of Geth. It seemed that for every Geth they killed two more came to take his place. This was getting out of hand very quickly.

"We can't stay here" Cloud called to Squall, who was hiding on the other side of the corridor. "We need to keep moving."

"I'm working on that!" Irvine answered back as he quickly moved around the corner to fire three shots down the corridor at the attacking Geth before sliding back into his hiding place.

"I'm going in;" Cloud said finally, "cover me." With that he drew his buster sword and sprinted down the corridor.

Sora watched as Cloud sprinted toward the Geth, using his buster sword to deflect the oncoming bullets. Once he reached his attackers he swung his sword in a wide arc, chopping the heads of the front two Geth in half. Before the next Geth could react, Cloud shoved his sword through the Geth's chest. He then brought his sword around rapidly, causing the impaled Geth to slide off and collide with a fourth Geth.

Watching Cloud dispatch the Geth filled Sora with sadness. The Keyblade had chosen him because of his fearlessness and strength of heart, yet here he was frozen with fear while his friends were forced to protect him. Maybe Jenna was right about him.

Cloud had finished with the Geth and was beginning to walk down the corridor. After a few steps, however, he ran into two more Geth. One of the Geth was red in color and was carrying a rocket launcher. The red Geth pointed his rocket launcher at Cloud. Cloud tensed, he was unsure about what he should do. He couldn't block the rocket with his sword like he could bullets, but if he simply dodged it he would be endangering his teammates behind him. There was a slim chance he could make it to the Geth before it had a chance to fire. Cloud decided to take his chances and began running forward.

Suddenly, the other Geth pitched forward. Sora noticed Jenna standing behind the falling Geth. She had kicked the Geth in the back, causing him to fall forward. She then stepped forward and placed her foot on the back of the falling Geth's head, adding her weight to the force of the fall to crush the Geth's head against the floor. Without missing a beat she pointed her pistol at the red Geth and fired twice. The Geth's head shattered and the rest of the body crumpled to the floor. She then continued running toward the rest of the group.

"Nice job," Cloud said as Jenna approached.

"Krogan!" She screamed in response as she ran past cloud and toward the others. Cloud quickly followed suit, turning and running back to where the rest of the group was hiding.

"What's going on?" Sora asked.

"There's a Krogan heading this way." Jenna answered as she hid behind the corner.

"What's a Krogan?" Riku asked.

Jenna stared at him in disbelief. "You don't know what a Krogan is?" She asked.

"Quiet," Cloud said in a sharp whisper.

For a few seconds everything was quiet, and then Sora began to feel the walls and floor of the corridor vibrating. Soon after he heard the loud thuds of heavy footsteps. "Where are you little girl?" A deep voice asked from down the corridor.

Sora peeked around the corner to get a look at this new enemy, and then froze in shock. The Krogan was well over seven feet tall and was bulging with muscles. It was covered from head to toe in thick, heavy looking body armor. The only skin visible was its face, which was a dull brown color. The top of its head was covered with bony spikes and several deep scars ran across the creatures face.

The Krogan stared at Sora with red beady eyes and grinned. "Gotcha" he said as he raised his shotgun. Sora quickly withdrew to his hiding spot as the deafening roar of the shotgun blast filled his ears. Jenna peered around the corner and fired two shots before hiding again.

_No more_, Sora decided, _I'm tired of hiding, time to show everyone what I'm made of_. He jumped out into the middle of the hallway, ready to fight.

The Krogan laughed. "You're a brave little lad artcha?" He then holstered his shotgun and began walking towards Sora.

"What are you doing Kid?" Jenna asked. "Don't be a hero, get back here!"

It was too late though, Sora was ready to fight. He'd now prove to everyone that he wasn't some weak kid, he was a warrior. He summoned his Keyblade to his hand; the air in front of him glowed with a bright white light as the sword seemed to appear out of nowhere. The silver sword gleamed in the artificial light of the corridor. The Keyblade was a legendary blade that had the power to unlock the heart of an entire world. The Keyblades chose their wielders, and the Kingdom Key had chosen Sora, because it believed in his power.

Sora watched as the Krogan walked towards him. He brought the Keyblade behind his back and then threw it with all of his might. He watched as his weapon spun end over end as it flew toward its target.

The Krogan caught the Keyblade by the shaft and tossed it behind him without breaking stride.

_Uh oh_, Sora thought. He held his hand out to call the Keyblade back to him, but it was too late. The Krogan had begun to run and was now sprinting headlong directly for him. By the time the Keyblade had returned to his hand, the Krogan was almost on top of him. Sora knew he would get trampled by the towering monster unless he did something fast.

Something hit Sora hard from the side. Sora flew sideways and smacked his head and shoulders against the wall of the corridor. Sora looked to see Cloud now standing in the path of the charging Krogan. The Krogan leaned forward and tackled Cloud with his shoulder. Cloud flew back several feet until he crashed into the far wall. Even though he was several feet away, Sora could still hear several sickening cracks as Cloud slammed into the wall. Irvine then jumped from his hiding place, pointing his shotgun at the Krogan. The Krogan grabbed the end of the shotgun and pulled, pulling Irvine along with it. As Irvine fell forward, the Krogan hit him in the face with his elbow. Irvine immediately went limp. Rather than letting his body fall, however, the Krogan picked up Irvine's unconscious body and threw it at Squall, who was moving in to attack. The two collided and fell heavily to the floor.

Jenna moved next, she jumped out from behind the corner and fired three rounds into the Krogan's chest. The bullets broke through the Krogan's heavy armor and into his flesh. Black blood began flowing out of the holes the bullets made in his armor. However, the bullets didn't seem to hurt the Krogan, all they did was piss him off. The Krogan screamed in fury and stepped toward Jenna. He grabbed her by the back of the head and threw her across the hallway. She slammed face first into the opposite wall and then fell to the floor, blood pouring from her nose.

The Krogan then drew a small shotgun and pointed it at Jenna's face. "You should have stayed in your cell." He said.

Just then Cloud stood up, limped forward one step, and plunged his Buster Sword as far into the Krogan's stomach as he could. Sora could see the point of the sword sticking out of the Krogan's back. This didn't 

seem to stop the Krogan, however. He punched Cloud across the face, causing him to spin and let go of the sword. The Krogan then stepped forward and head butted Cloud as hard as he could. Cloud crumpled to the floor, unconscious. The Krogan then pulled the Buster Sword out of his chest and tossed it aside.

Sora climbed to his feet and looked to see Riku pointing his Keyblade at the Krogan. Sora immediately knew what he was planning and pointed his own Keyblade at the Krogan. Aside from unlocking doors and magically appearing when summoned, the Keyblade had another use. It acted as a conduit for the body's natural energy. It could channel and absorb this energy, then release it in many different ways. Sora could feel his energy flowing into the Keyblade as he prepared his attack.

Once the Keyblade had absorbed enough energy, Sora focused on the Krogan. "Firaga!" He screamed as a giant fireball shot out of the end of the Keyblade and hit the Krogan. The Krogan screamed in pain as he caught fire.

Riku responded immediately. "Blizzaga!" A large ball of ice struck the Krogan, extinguishing the fire but also freezing the front of his armor.

The Krogan pulled out a pistol and fired at Sora. A sharp pain ran up his left side as he fell back against the wall. He clenched his stomach with his left hand, and then pulled it back to see that it was covered with blood.

The Krogan then grabbed Riku by the Throat and lifted him up off of the ground. He then jammed his pistol underneath Riku's chin. Sora looked away as a loud bang filled the corridor. Sora felt sick, his best friend Riku was dead and he had been powerless to help him. How could he ever live with himself now? Sora then heard a dull thud and looked up to examine the scene. Riku was sitting with his back up against a wall rubbing his neck. The Krogan was lying on the ground; the entire left side of his face had been blown apart. Jenna was standing over the dead Krogan, holding Irvine's shotgun.

She glanced at Riku, "that was a Krogan" she said.

Jenna then walked over to Sora. "Move your hand and let me see the wound." She instructed.

Sora obeyed and after a few seconds Jenna said "well, it doesn't look like he hit anything vital. We will need to do something about that bleeding though." She then grabbed Sora by the throat and pushed him against the wall. "What the hell were you thinking?" She said. "Those gung ho tactics may have worked with the heartless, but that shit will get you and your friends killed out here!" With that she left to go check on the others.

Riku walked over and helped Sora to his feet. "Don't worry Sora," he said, "you did a good job."

"Did I?" Sora replied, unconvinced. "I'm not so sure anymore."


End file.
